The Marine Corps has determined that wearing of full camouflage uniforms, officially known as the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform, is "not appropriate for a civilian environment." Many of us in the civilian environment never thought is was.

Marine Corps changes camouflage uniform rules

When I see a man or woman in full uniform, I make certain assumptions. A cop in uniform is a cop at all times, whether he's on lunch break, heading home from work, and so on. If there is trouble, that's who I'm tapping, wherever, whenever.

Far too often, when I see a big guy stomping through the shopping mall or the grocery store in full uniform, I have to ask myself whether this person looks legitimate or not. I lack the knowledge to determine if the uniform is the official garb of a trained professional or just some surplus store hand-me-down worn by someone who has his or her own reasons for donning it.

The other evening I witnessed a shop-lifting attempt and the ensuing scuffle that went with it. In my hazy memory I seem to recall the perpetrator wearing some camouflage-style clothing, though he was quite obviously not in the military. The entire episode lasted all of perhaps 10 seconds, accompanied by plenty of screaming, throwing of objects and the final breakout, which was not enough time for any of ujs standing by to make a valid assessment of who was chasing whom and why. In the heat of the moment, what the perpetrator was wearing merely added to the confusion.

To me the new rule clarifies things quite a bit and allows for less second-guessing on my part, as now I can be somewhat sure that the intimidating guy stomping toward me in full cammies and combat boots on aisle 15 of my grocery store is not on the Marine payroll, and, thus, probably not the one I'll turn to if trouble arises.